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The structure of the interview day affects applicant interactions with faculty and residents, which can influence the applicant’s rank list decision. We aimed to determine if there was a difference in matched residents between those interviewing on a day on which didactics were held and had increased resident and faculty presence (didactic day) versus an interview day with less availability for applicant interactions with residents and faculty (non-didactic day). This was a retrospective study reviewing interview dates of matched residents from 2009-2015. Forty-two (61.8%) matched residents interviewed on a didactic day with increased faculty and resident presence versus 26 (38.2%) on a non-didactic interview day with less availability for applicant interactions (p = 0.04). There is an association between interviewing on a didactic day with increased faculty and resident presence and matching in our program.

Introduction: Despite the extraordinary amount of time physicians spend communicating with patients, dedicated education strategies on this topic are lacking. The objective of this study was to develop a multimodal curriculum including direct patient feedback and assess whether it improves communication skills as measured by the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) in fourth-year medical students during an emergency medicine (EM) clerkship., Methods: This was a prospective, randomized trial of fourth-year students in an EM clerkship at an academic medical center from 2016-2017. We developed a multimodal curriculum to teach communication skills consisting of 1) an asynchronous video on communication skills, and 2) direct patient feedback from the CAT, a 15-question tool with validity evidence in the emergency department setting. The intervention group received the curriculum at the clerkship midpoint. The control group received the curriculum at the clerkship's end. We calculated proportions and odds ratios (OR) of students achieving maximum CAT score in the first and second half of the clerkship., Results: A total of 64 students were enrolled: 37 in the control group and 27 in the intervention group. The percentage of students achieving the maximum CAT score was similar between groups during the first half (OR 0.70, p = 0.15). Following the intervention, students in the intervention group achieved a maximum score more often than the control group (OR 1.65, p = 0.008)., Conclusion: Students exposed to the curriculum early had higher patient ratings on communication compared to the control group. A multimodal curriculum involving direct patient feedback may be an effective means of teaching communication skills.

Introduction: Emergency physicians (EP) experience high rates of workplace violence, the risks of which increase with the presence of weapons. Up to 25% of trauma patients brought to the emergency department (ED) have been found to carry weapons. Given these risks, we conducted an educational needs assessment to characterize EPs' knowledge of firearms, frequency of encountering firearms in the ED, and level of confidence with safely removing firearms from patient care settings., Methods: This was a survey study of attending and resident EPs at two academic and four community hospitals in the Midwest and Northeast. A 26-item questionnaire was emailed to all EPs at the six institutions. Questions pertained to EPs' knowledge of firearms, experience with handling firearms, and exposure to firearms while at work. We calculated response proportions and p-values., Results: Of 243 recipients who received the survey, 149 (61.3%) completed it. Thirty-three respondents (22.0%) reported encountering firearms in the workplace, 91 (60.7%) reported never handling firearms, and 25 (16.7%) reported handling firearms at least once per year. Thirty-six respondents (24.0%) reported formal firearms training, and 63 (42.3%) reported no firearms training. There were no significant regional differences regarding firearms training or exposure. Residents from the Northeast were more likely to be moderately confident that they could safely handle a firearm prior to law enforcement involvement (p=0.043), while residents from the Midwest were more likely to be not at all confident (p=0.018)., Conclusion: The majority of surveyed attending and resident EPs reported little experience with handling firearms. Among resident EPs, there was a regional difference in confidence in handling firearms prior to law enforcement involvement. Given the realities of workplace violence and the frequency with which firearms are encountered in the ED, further investigation is needed to evaluate provider competence in safely handling them. EPs may benefit from training on this topic., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. No author has professional or financial relationships with any companies that are relevant to this study. There are no conflicts of interest or sources of funding to declare.